And they said it wasn't a practical winter car...

I run some goodyear 195/70/14 snow tires that I 'procured' from the USPS auto repair center, the LLV's (the white USPS trucks) are all equipped with them.

I drive my '74 swinger to work every day, it can be a little iffy in the pouring rain, but otherwise it's just fine. I am going to buy some bags of cheap-o cat litter to stick in the trunk for traction though.